Month: April 2016

Portuguese Style Stuffed Peppers

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Stuffed peppers are a meal all in themselves.  They have protein, grain and vegetable all in one perfect package.  Adding in the chouriço, portuguese ground pepper (pimenta moida) and Portuguese Allspice really bring it into “Portuguese Style” territory!

These are great for a weeknight meal, to bring in to work for lunch or make some of the stuffing, freeze in an airtight bag and stuff fresh peppers whenever you get the inkling!

 

I like the red, orange and yellow peppers myself because they are sweeter, but if you prefer green, go ahead and use green!

Cut each pepper in half lengthwise. This will later lead to a more crispy top on your stuffing.

Seed the peppers removing as much of the white pith as you can.

Dice up a medium onion.

Fresh parsley is important here.

Chop it up.

Use one large can of plain tomato sauce. reserving about 1/3 of it for topping the peppers before they go into the oven.

The meat for this stuffing is made up of half ground beef and half chouriço.

Add in the onion.

Brown everything together in the skillet.

Once browned, add in 2/3 of the can of sauce.

Now add in a couple of cups of cooked white rice. If you prefer brown rice here, that’s fine, just be sure it is thoroughly cooked, this is not the time for aldente anything.

Add in some salt and pepper to taste and your stuffing is ready!

Select a baking dish that will comfortably fit the number of peppers you are looking to bake without being too tight.

Grease the baking dish with some oil.

Place your peppers with the cut side up on your baking dish ready for stuffing.

Stuff each pepper 1 and a half times its size so that it has a nice rounded top of stuffing.

Cover with some plain sauce just to keep the stuffing moist.

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Portuguese Stuffed Peppers

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2-3 bell peppers, cut in half and seeded

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground chouriço

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups cooked rice

1 can tomato sauce

2 Tbs. parsley, chopped

1 Tbs. Pimenta Moida (ground pepper)

1/2 tsp. Portuguese Allspice

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Brown ground beef, ground chouriço and onion in a skillet over medium heat.  Drain if there is an excess of fat (a little fat is ok).  Add in Pimenta Moida, parsley and a little salt and pepper (don’t over do it here) and 2/3 can of tomato sauce.  Stir.  Add in cooked rice.  Stir.

Stuff filling into peppers and place in an oiled baking dish.  Top stuffed peppers with remaining 1/3 can of tomato sauce.  Bake for 30 minutes until pepper has cooked through. Serve hot.

***Gluten-free

Basic Spaghetti & Meatballs

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It’s not often that you can find a meal that is as great as a Sunday dinner as it is a week night meal, but Spaghetti and Meatballs fits that bill.  We are talking REAL Spaghetti and Meatballs, the kind where you actually roll the meatballs with your own two hands.

I must make this dish a dozen different ways, but this is a nice basic recipe.  If you like to add parmesan to yours, feel free, if you like to add anchovies, go for it… But, this recipe is simple, not too complicated and because the meatballs are slowly simmered in the sauce instead of baked or pan-fried, they are nice and tender and help to flavor the sauce at the same time.

This sauce and these meatballs are also great when you make a big batch and freeze them!  So, put in the effort on a Sunday afternoon, have it for dinner, freeze the rest and a week later, you have a great Wednesday night meal!  Just boil up some more pasta and you are good to go!

Start with ground beef.

Grab some parsley.

Add in some bread crumbs.

Then some Worcestershire sauce.

Add basil and half and half to moisten the bread crumbs.

Saute some onions.

Add in an egg as a binder.

If you wet your hand, it’s easier to form the meatballs.

Make golf ball size balls.

Get them ready for the sauce.

In a large pan start with olive oil.

Saute some onions.

Add in some garlic when your onions are soft.

Next add in som San Marzano whole tomatoes. You really want the whole tomatoes here, because you know they aren’t just giving you left over scraps, these are good.

Add into your pot with your onions.

Take a potato masher gently to the tomatoes. If you go crazy here, you will be wearing tomatoes, so easy does it.

Get them good and mashed.

Now add in some tomato paste.

You need to give it time to melt in.

Mix it in well.

Add some Worcestershire sauce here as well.

Now a palm full of Italian seasoning mix.

Mix.

Gently drop meatballs in.

Make sure they are all nestled in well.

Get some sauce over top of them.

Cover and simmer on low.

Add in some parsley.

Stir it in.

Cook your pasta to package instructions for aldente pasta and drain.  I am using Barilla’s Spaghetti Rigati because it has ridges that help to hold on to the sauce!

Ladle in a ladle or two of sauce to coat pasta, do not over sauce!


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Spaghetti & Meatballs

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 lb. Spaghetti Rigati (or your favorite cut of pasta), cooked aldente to package instructions

Meatballs:

2 lbs. ground beef

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 onion, small diced and sautéed until tender

1/2 cup half and half or whole milk

1 egg

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1/4 cup basil, chopped

2 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. Italian seasoning mix (optional)

Sauce:

2 large cans San Marzano whole tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

1 onion, diced

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1/4 cup basil, chopped

4 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 tsp. Italian Seasoning Mix

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper

1/2 cup red wine (optional)

Directions:

For Meatballs:

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Wet hands and form golf ball sized balls.  When sauce is ready, place in sauce and gently simmer.

For Sauce:

Saute onion in olive oil.  When tender, add whole tomatoes, mash with potato masher until broken down to your liking.  Add remaining ingredients.  Add meatballs, bring to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.

To plate:

When pasta has come to aldente (after sauce is ready), drain and add in 2 ladles of sauce.  Coat pasta with sauce. Top with meatballs.  Serve hot and enjoy!